I had the pleasure of fishing with my friend Matt Carlson last night on an area metro lake. Part of the excitement for the trip was to experience running the new Motorguide Xi5 which definitely lived up to the rumors. The bite was slow during the daylight hours as is normal in the metro. The last hour of light brought a few small walters on jig and minnow while we were not able to get bit by the bigger fish we were marking. Once it got dark the wind kept blowing which told me one key thing, the fish should eat and they should do so shallow. After picking a tried and true spot, we hit the anchor button on the remote. The cool thing was that we started further from the structure because with this trolling motor you have the ability to move in 5 ft increments while in anchor mode. It didn’t take long and I got bit by a healthy 19 incher. Soon after that Matt hooked into a nice 24 which was released. Then as if I was muskie fishing, I pulled my bait out of the water and a fish boiled on the surface. I proceeded to make another cast and have a 24ish fish eat my bait about 4 ft from the boat the next cast which was fun. All in all this season has been off to a fun and memorable one!

The truly awaited home opener has come, and what an opener it was! After watching the Wild tie up the series playoff I made my way to the lake to meet some of my good friends. Upon arriving at our first spot of the night we began catching instantaneously! I did not keep score but it the fishermen were definitely the victors. I look forward to cold springs as it seems they provide the most consistent walleye fishing by pushing the spawn closer to the opener leaving many of the male walleyes in the system vulnerable. It is not uncommon to catch males up to 25 inches! Another new thing I witnessed was as many as two other walleyes following the one in that I was reeling in just like smallmouth seem to do. I felt it was hardly possible to top last years opener but it definitely happened. Another GREAT opener in the books!

Tonight I had the pleasure of fishing with my good buddy Chris Dolans on Lake Minnetonka. We found a nice little school of around 50 crappies in shallow water that continued to do laps past us and keep picking a few off. We kept maybe 7 total in the 10 inch range for a little snack. The best part was while we were crappie fishing near Big Island we had turkeys gobbling within 150 yards of us. Next thing you know there were 5 jakes and 1 big tom strutting around about 40 yards from us while we were catching crappies!! As an added bonus we saw four deer while we were leaving our spot…they were also on the island. Days like today really do make you appreciate the outdoors and the finer things we all have the freedom to enjoy!! I can’t wait until my daughter is old enough to experience these things with me!

I got out last night for some late night walleye fishing with a couple buddies. Fishing was slow but at least we caught a few and didn’t get skunked. This fish fell victim to one of my buddies custom hair jigs in the pink/white flavor with a purple/white ringworm. I know this sounds stupid but because of the weather we have had for the past week, I feel we will have extremely remarkable fishing for the opener!! Tell your friends, tell your family, get a hold of me if you want to put some walleyes in your freezer!! Not to mention, it will be the funnest bite you have ever experienced!

As far as my local lakes are concerned it has been declared ICE OUT!!! This is great news as we can start chasing the fish that taste great in the frying pan! If you are thinking of a great gift for family members or you just want to take the kids out for a fun trip filled with a LOT of action, call me now to book a trip crappie fishing or for walleyes after opener!! The schedule book is going to fill up fast so make sure to call right away. I am offering a smoking deal for crappie fishing which includes up to 3 people and the gear and bait included for $200!!! If we do not have a successful trip you get a second day for the price of gas! You cannot beat that! Book a trip today!! 612-310-3254

I know it is not a pretty photo session picture but it was 2 AM when I got home!! These are my 6 Walters I caught on Saturday night of the 2013 MN Opener!!! It was an absolutely crazy bite on the water with my buddy and I catching 15 walleye up to 25 inches!!

Well even though it was a somewhat crappy weekend, me and some buddys made it down to the Mississippi River for looking for some big females. We did not hook up with any really big ones but we caught about a dozen fish with some respectable fish in the 21-23 inch range. It was a pretty solid bit considering the amount of current coming down the river. It will be interesting to see what the rivers look like after this big snow storm we’re having right now melts off!!